The other the day my grandmaster discussed the possiblities of me establishing a franchise of our martial arts school...I always had plans on opening my own school, but I never thought about franchising with him...I train in a "similar" system to the I.T.F....It's not too common in my country, Canada. I know by franchising I get to use his name and get his business plan and stuff...Our martial arts school is very successful and one of the bigger ones in our city..Part of our success had to do with how my master conducted business and our very well developed system of TAe kwon do.......HOwever, i don't see the point in franchising because our system of tae kwon do is uncommon...Could I even legally opening up a school teaching his unique system of tae kwon do without franchising? Do I have a choice?

You always have a choice....

 

When I hear franchise I think one man running several schools. He may have his own school but his top studenst would be in charge of the other branches. If your school is a franchise that means you Sensei would still have all say. I may be wrong but all money would go to him and he would be responsible for all bills and upkeep. IMO this is a good way to get into teaching MA but if you are looking to make a career out of it I sugest opening your own school. Don't become his rival but don't get into MONEY ties with him either.

It's more likely that he doesn't pick up the bills. You will probably get to use his name, lesson plans, paperwork, logos, etc., and he will get a percentage of what you bring in.

 

You may not be able to call it exactly what he calls it without him, but you can still open a TKD school and teach what you were taught.

 

I will tell you that in KSW it's like one huge franchise system. Headquarters gets a small slice of what the school brings in for promotions, not monthly fees. It's seemed to work well, as I can go into another Kuk Sool Won dojang anywhere in the country and find essencially the same things being taught in the same order.

Just a thought...if the school is so successful, then why is he looking to franchise? Why doesn't he make it a branch and pay you to manage it? In a franchise arrangement, you are incurring the risk and start-up fees (and the rewards if you make it). My other thought is how much will this agreement cost you? Can you do it on your own for considerably less? I would weigh the financial part of this carefully before signing on the dotted line.

My only warning if you do end up opening your own school instead of franchising: Beware the blackbelt community.

 

It sounds wrong, but if you disrespect your instructor and open a school without his blessing, than he and all of the other schools he may be associated with, will not support you. They will probably not speak very highly of you. The attitude of other schools can greatly affect yours. Just keep that in mind!